That's Right, I'm A Chef!

The blog of Ben Storkamp. Alleged chef, part-time diehard Twins fan, full time television connoisseur.
Known authority on Freshy Freshington, Harold Dieterle and Hells Kitchen.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Ahahahaha- UPDATED

So I brought my leather jacket down to Florida with me right? Only, owing to the warm weather I've worn it maybe twice since I got here. Well, after I got back from the park, I go into my closet to put something away and see it hanging there. And I think... wasn't I wearing that on Saturday? You can probably guess where this is going. First pocket I look in, there's my camera.So for once, my stories of disorganization turns out happy.

Well with that off my mind I guess I can tell you about Animal Kingdom. Well, I got my passport thingy from the ticket office (I saved it when I was done too, you know, for scrapbooking purposes...mom) The deal is you go to each land, and at one of the attractions you get an employee to stamp that lands ticket in your book. If you get four of the stamps you can get the pin, plus you are entered into a drawing for a weekend stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, plus some other junk. Get all six and you are entered twice.First up, Discovery Island. The stamper is the entrance greeter at Its Tough To Be a Bug. She stamps my book (actually hole punches...it's in the shape of a leaf) and gives me a big smile and a friendly "Welcome to Discovery Island!" I almost feel guilty for not going to the show, and just turning around and getting the heck OUT of Discovery Island. Almost but not really.

Next up- Camp Mickey and Minnie. An area of the park, that frankly I didn't even know existed. The stamper is an old lady in a booth outside Festival of The Lion King. After she's done curtly informing a young couple that there is no admittance to the show at this point, she rarther reluctantly stamps my book (I don't remember what it was) without really acknowledging my presence. Polite rube that I am, I stand there grinning at her until she gives me a pinfully forced smile and returns to her book. Service! I notice some characters off to the side so I wander over there. Apparently its one of those areas where several characters are continuously availiable for pictures. Even though the park was reasonably busy, and Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald were all there, lines were almost non-existent. It's a little out of the way, so there. A useful park tip from. After just three months! Its a little hot so I sit on a stone bench for awhile and study the concrete pathways. Are the leaf impressions in the concrete intentional? Hmm.

Africa now! Three times on the way over I nearly bowl over some schmuck who thinks its okay to suddenly slam on the brakes of the stroller he's pushing and swing it sideways to watch the entertainers. Not the same schmuck mind you. After the first time I would have stepped away from him. Anyway the stamper is the person who joins the stand-by and fastpass lines on Safari. So now I gotta do the ride. Not that I mind the safari at all, I do rather like it. But without my camera it would just feel weird. Anyway its an intolerably long wait, and the blowhard in front of me never shut up about how great his wireless plan was. Yeah, free nights and weekends I get it dude. Anyway, I finally get to the joining station, where again the tour guide (or whatever cast members are called there) stamps by book without really noticing me. Well, in fairness she actually had a job to do at the same time. The stamp was of a wildebeest though!So I get put in the front row for a jeep. As the vehicle is pulling up I turn to the seater and have a brief five second conversation. During that time, the doors ipen up, and the couple in second line slip over and take the prized, left front row seats away from me! Bastard! I shoot them my best dirty look, which as you might know isn't very good. Whatever, I don't have my camera anyway. Ok, the safari itself is pretty run o' the mill. Except for a giraffe which came up pretty close. I was a advised that the drinking pond in the elephant area is an HM, so I did my best to check it out. It would have been easier to see it if I had the seat I was supposed to... Anyway, I'm iffy on it. I suppose it could have been intentional, but if so, it's not really clear.

Ok, on to Asia. Gotta hit the Mahrajahahjahaha Jungle Trek for this one. Which is fine, since I never was really aware of its existence before. The stamper is hanging out at the first tiger viewing exhibit, and she makes up for the previous CMs lack of enthusiasm. "All right! You're almost there!" Well actualy I have four now, which is enough, but I assume most people go for all six.(The stamp is some sort of unrecognizable cloud-like object. Possibly a cloud) I have a breif chat with her about HMs which are all apparently located further down the trail.And indeed there are. There is a ruined building a little ways down that is a cornucopia of HMs. Heres a rundown-

Where- Clouds in the sky in the mural of the king.Intentional- Absolutely.How Good- Ok, but a tad obvious.

Where- Gold ringlets on the kings shoulder.Intentional- Debatable. There are alot of ringlets and it might be a coincidence. They overlap some too which is never a good sign.How good- Not much, if its real.

Where- Earring on the opposite mural of a king.Intentional- Probably.How good- Well, its upside down which I never like.

Where- Leaves at the kings feet.Status- NON-EXISTENT! A CM who walked by asked if I was looking for HMs. We chatted and she confirmed that no one has ever found this one. She did point out the prior ringlet one though.

Where- Flowers on two decorative panels on the walls.Intentional- Mmmmaybe. Basically there are lines of flower stems arranged outwards with three circular flowers at there bases. Some of the flowers are in straight lines, but some take sort of HMish patterns. Also they don't touch, so I'm inclines to say no.

Where- Mans necklace on a wall carving at the entrance to the Aviary.Intentional- Probably. It's upside down, and could easily have been part of the design, but it is pretty clear once you see it.How Good- Well its upside down. I dunno, I've seen better.

Well, didn't linger on the trek besides, what with no camera. So it's time to hit Dinoland.

Alright, the Dinoland stamper is of course at Dinosaur, and dosen't show up till after the pre-ride video. Meaning you gotta ride the ride, which is of course fine with me since this has fast become one of my favorites. Oddly, even though the park is kind a busy, there is no wait at all for the ride.. but at least I am free to tarry at the first exhibit and come up with-

Where- On the trunk of the far left tree on the first mural.Intentional- Yup.How good- Really good. One of my favorites so far.

Anyway, the stamp, turns out to be a star(???) and the stamper is firendly enough. I got stuck in the middle of the back row on the ride. I've never ridden in the very back before and it actually is a little different. You feel alot more of the bumps and jerks, and my hat flew off at one point. Plus the when you go under the final dino, you cant really see him come out, but then you get the full blast of his roar right above your head. Interesting. I ride again, making sure to cross my eyes and stick out my tounge at the picture taking dino. Hee hee.

Well, five of six, and if I want to get that last one I gotta ride the frickin train to conservation station. Nah. I'm gonna hit Island Mercantile for my pin and hit the cafeteria at work for lunch.

So I collect up my pin, a nice little number featuring Mickey swinging on a vine. The clerk cheerfuly admonishes me for not getting number six. Oh well, I say. I didn't wanna ride the train.

Ah, but before I left, I just had to check out the huge HM on the Tree of Life I had heard about. And yes, I've never seen it before, but wow, it's really obvious once you do.

Well, that was my day. Now that I've got my camera back I look forward to a full scavenger hunt. I'll be back sometime later, hopefully with good news about Belly. (Keep your fingers crossed)

Sigh

Well, the worst news yet. As of today, I officialy have no idea where my camrea is. I uses it last Saturday, but I don't remember where I put it, and now I cant find it anywhere. I've turned my car and room upside down, but no dice. I jsut don't know where it could be. I'm 99 percent sure I had it with me when I left the park saturday. Aggh, I just feel horrible.

I went to Animal Kingdom to get that pin. Got it and spotted a bunch of HMs too. When I feel better I'l write about it.

Rockin the fryer

I was on fryer station by myself last night.. and aced it. Probably took in 150 orders and didnt mess up one. And for those of you who know me, and my haphazard memory, thats pretty good. And if you don't know me, why are you reading this?

I'll have to try and plan that hunt sometime after spring break then. Does anyone have one of those guide books that has achart of weekly guest traffic patterns? I know I've seen them.And yeah, Jamie lent me her HM book. So some time I'll block out two off days, fill up my car with gas, and try and hit all the locations, and get pictures of them too. We'll see.